Moving on to Shanghai...

I visited several interesting places while in Shanghai and it's different from Suzhou. Shanghai is developing rapidly and from what has been planned, it will be a modern city by year 2010. That would be quite a sight to behold I think. I was in Shanghai for a few days and what I like is shopping for the local handicrafts. What was tiring was the bargaining. Trick is you have to bargain down by 75% before moving your way up to a compromise. And also, look out for counterfeit notes - look for the silver line for your RMB50 & RMB100.

It was interesting to see the new and the old blending together. I was surprised to see Starbucks there amidst the traditional looking buildings but why not when it's a tourist spot ya. This is a main shopping area and my only regret was that I didn't have the whole day to spend there. Instead, I only had a couple of hours and only explored a small fraction of the place. But I did manage to get some local handicrafts there so was pleased with myself.

I also had the chance to ride the Maglev Train and that's quite an awesome experience. It was going so quickly, fastest speed at 431 km/h. The ride lasted only 10 minutes but it was filled with lots of ooohsss and ahhhs from those on board.

I came across such vehicles (below) in Suzhou and Shanghai. My question to you is if you think this is a motorcycle or a bicycle? It's kinda both. You charge the motor each night and this vehicle is able to travel for a specific distance and once the battery dies, you use the pedal. Kinda cool I guess :o)

Just to sum up about China, I think I would have had a different experience if I spoke the language. I missed out on a lot because of that. But I met some nice people along the way who shared about the culture and life in China and that I found interesting. I saw beautiful parks and gardens, the toilets in Suzhou and Shanghai that I went to thankfully had doors. I have some horror toilet stories but those I will share in person and not very suitable for blog posts I think. And I guess I AM curious as to how the other parts of China would be like, especially the Great Wall China. So who knows when is the next time I'll step foot on Chinese soil :o)